The T-P Top 25: Our lighthearted ranking of the best teams in college football

1.Alabama (5-0); Last week: 1; Saturday: def. Kentucky, 38-20, The skinny: Predictably, Nick Saban had the Tide players talking about dissatisfied they were about winning an SEC road games by 18 points. Next: Saturday at Ole Miss

3.Texas (4-0); Last week: 3; Saturday: DNP; The skinny: All of sudden, Oklahoma isn’t looking like the Longhorns’ biggest obstacle to an unbeaten season. But if the Sooners aren’t, who is? Next: Saturday vs. Colorado

4.Virginia Tech (4-1); Last week; 4; Saturday: def. Duke, 34-26; The skinny: With Alabama, Nebraska and Miami in their rearview mirror, the Hokies should run the table from here on in. Next: Saturday vs. BostonCollege

6.Iowa (5-0); Last week: 5; Saturday: def. ArkansasState, 24-21; The skinny: The Hawkeyes are 5-0 for the first time since 1995, but playing the Red Wolves entirely too close for comfort drops them a spot. Next: Saturday vs. Michigan

7.BoiseState (5-0); Last week; 8; Saturday: def. UC Davis, 34-16; The skinny: Broncos fans have fretted about a glass ceiling keeping their teams out of the BCS championship game. An underwhelming performance against the Division I-AA Aggies will help them hit it Next: Oct. 14 at Tulsa

8.Southern California (4-1); Last week: 12; Saturday: def. California, 30-3; The skinny: As always, the Trojans get up for the big ones. Next: Oct. 17 at Notre Dame

9.Auburn (5-0); Last week: 23; Saturday: def. Tennessee, 26-22; The skinny: Why not? The Tigers have a pair of SEC road victories plus one at home against West Virginia. That’s not a bad résumé’. Next: Saturday at Arkansas

11.Texas Christian (4-0); Last week; 9; Saturday: def. Southern Methodist; 34-19; The skinny: The Horned Frogs are another glass ceiling team, and sloppy play against the Mustangs doesn’t help. Next: Saturday at Air Force

13.Kansas (4-0); Last week: 13; Saturday: DNP; The skinny: Hopefully the Jayhawks stayed out of trouble during their open date and didn’t pick any more fights with the basketball team. Next: Saturday vs. IowaState

14.Oregon (3-1); Last week: 14; Saturday: def. WashingtonState, 52-6; The skinny: The only thing uglier than the game were the Ducks’ digital green on highlighter yellow jerseys. Bring back the throwbacks! Next: Saturday at UCLA

15.Nebraska (3-1); Last week: 15; Saturday: DNP; The skinny: Hard to believe, but the Big 12 North race is looking better than the Big 12 South’s. Next: Thursday at Missouri

17.Cincinnati (5-0); Last week: 21; Saturday: def. Miami (Ohio), 37-13; The skinny: For the first time since 1951, the polls have the Bearcats ranked higher than the Buckeyes. We’re not quite to that point yet.Next: Oct. 15 at South Florida

18.Georgia (3-2); Last week; 16; Saturday: Lost to LSU, 20-13; The skinny: Like Barak Obama said, “Sometimes you play a great game and still lose.” The Bulldogs weren’t great on Saturday, but they don’t deserve to be dropped very far. Next: Saturday at Tennessee

19.South Carolina (3-1); Last week: 18; Saturday: def. South CarolinaState; 38-14; Next: The Gamecocks were only as good as they had to be. Saturday vs. Kentucky

20.OklahomaState (3-1); Last week; 20; Saturday: DNP; The skinny: Not much has been heard from the Cowboys since the loss to Houston, but things are about to get interesting again. Next: Saturday at Texas A&M

21.Wisconsin (5-0); Last week: NR; Saturday: def. Minnesota, 31-28; The skinny: With the Paul Bunyan Axe in hand, the Badgers head for the Horseshoe – where they might need it. Next: Saturday at OhioState

22.Oklahoma (3-2); Last week; 7; Saturday: Lost to Miami, 21-20; The skinny: Two one-point losses and the Sooners are suddenly BCS dogmeat. But they should have been able to get the ball back at the end. Next: Saturday at Baylor.

23.Brigham Young (4-1); Last week; 22; Friday: def. UtahState, 35-17; The skinny: For beating the Aggies for the 10th straight time, the Cougars win the Old Wagon Wheel. Wonder what they’re going to do with all of them? Next: Saturday at UNLV

24.Georgia Tech (4-1); Last week: NR; Saturday: def. MississippiState, 42-31; The skinny: Believe it or not, Saturday’s game was the first time the Yellow Jackets have ever played a game in Mississippi. Ya’ll come back now. Hear? Next: Saturday at FloridaState

25.Virginia (1-3); Last week: NR; Saturday: def. North Carolina, 16-3; The skinny: If Al Groh could play the Tar Heels every week, he wouldn’t be on the hot seat. The Cavs are 9-2 vs. Carolina under Groh, including three straight against Butch Davis. Next: Saturday vs. Indiana.